We have recently received a really novel book called Luxury Liners: Their Golden Age (and the Music played aboard) published by Edel Entertainment. A substantial hardback book, it contains 130 pages of magnificent photographs of the great liners of the 20th century, including their interiors and passengers (captions are given in English, German and Italian).

Although the golden age of the great luxury liners cruising the world's seas is long gone, the myth of luxurious, sophisticated transcontinental travel still lingers on. "Luxury Liners" presents the largest and most impressive steamers from the beginning of the 19th century until today in beautiful contemporary and vintage photographs. Images of the leisurely life on the first-class deck, breathtaking interior photographs and pictures documenting the launchings of the most important ships take you on a journey back in time, back to the era when travel was considered an art form. This title includes 4 CDs that provide the musical background of the time, from elegant bar music to swing, tango and Charleston as played by the great salon orchestras.

The music is on four cds neatly contained inside the front cover of the book and adds an extra dimension of nostalgia and charm.

For our regular readers though, I must stress this book is excellent value just for the photography alone.